New Orleans, Louisiana
 C
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. It is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area. It is coextensive with Orleans Parish meaning that the boundaries of the city and the parish are the same. The city has a population of 343,829 as of 2010, and the larger metropolitan area is 1,235,650.[1]
Contents |
Evaluating the city's website
The good
- The 2012 (adopted and proposed) budget is posted.[2]
- City Council meetings and agendas are available.[3]
- City Council members are listed, along with full contact information.[4]
- Professional service contracts are available on the city council's site.[5]
- The mayor's administrative staff is listed[6] along with their contact information.[7]
- The Bureau of Treasury includes some city tax information[8], taxes can be paid online.
- Zoning information[9] and building permits available.[10]
The bad
- Check register is not online.
- Ethics reports do not appear to be available, but the city did recently get the Inspector General's office up and running.
- Information on lobbying is not available.
- How to make a public records request is not provided on the city's site.
Elected officials
New Orleans has a mayor-council government. The city council consists of seven council members, who are elected by district and two at-large councilmembers. The current mayor, Mitch Landrieu, was elected on February 6, 2010 and assumed office on May 3, 2010. New Orleans' government is now largely centralized in the city council and mayor's office, but it maintains a number of relics from earlier systems when various sections of the city ran much of their affairs separately. For example, New Orleans has seven elected tax assessors, each with their own staff, representing various districts of the city, rather than one centralized office. A constitutional amendment passed on November 7, 2006, will consolidate the seven assessors into one by 2010. On February 18, 2010, Errol Williams was elected as the first city-wide assessor.[11]
Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu was sworn in as the 61st Mayor of New Orleans on May 3, 2010. As a State Legislator, Mitch represented the Broadmoor neighborhood for 16 years. As Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, Mitch served as an executive, managing a $127 million budget and 800 employees. To deliver results, he put in place strict standards of accountability. Before getting into government service, Landrieu had a law practice for several years.[12]
City Council Members
As of April 2011, the seven city council members are: Arnie Fielkow, Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, Susan G. Guidry, Stacy Head, Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, and Jon D. Johnson.[13]
Salaries
The salaries of the mayor and the city council members are not online. The salaries of some top officials increased dramatically in 2010.[14]
Public employees
In 2011, the city's budget shows that the city of New Orleans employed 4,517.51 people.[15]
Emergency personnel
In 2011, the city's budget shows that the city had 1,727.07 people in the police department.[16]
In 2011, the city's budget shows that the city had 778.50 employees in the fire department.[17]
Budget
Revenue
General fund revenue
In 2011, general fund revenue totaled $488,370,665:
- Sales tax - $145,046,603
- Other financing - $22,807,199
- Property tax - $108,475,191
- Licenses and permits - $63,433,534
- Service charges - $69,548,965
- Fines and forfeits - $36,529,870
- Miscellaneous revenue - $11,274,701
- Intergovernmental revenue - $9,273,442
- Other taxes - $21,981,160
Non-general fund revenue
In 2011, non-general fund revenue totaled $317,505,643:
- Self-generated - $1,075,000
- Housing and urban development - $55,622,795
- Mayoral fellows - $256,775
- Library funds - $8,380,299
- Local law enforcement funds - $1,741,780
- Other federal grants - $114,927,214
- Other state grants - $54,366,274
- Grants, contr., and fund transfer - $60,693,712
- Special revenue funds - $20,441,794
Spending
General fund spending
In 2011, general fund spending will total $488,370,665. Spending over $1,000,000 includes:
- Council - $9,859,139
- Mayor - $11,439,144
- CAO - $50,991,032
- Law - $12,425,068
- Fire - $75,331,641
- Safety and permits - $5,280,565
- Police - $109,394,564
- Sanitation - $37,795,326
- Health - $12,549,048
- Human services - $2,727,542
- Finance - $53,366,766
- Property management - $53,366,766
- Civil service - $1,795,470
- Public works - $18,669,127
- Recreation - $8,002,700
- Parks and recreation - $6,867,566
- City planning commission - $1,794,436
- Mosquito control board - $2,646,030
- Miscellaneous - $9,108,020
- General services - $3,635,514
- District attorney - $6,166,265
- Coroner's office - $1,478,597
- Juvenile court - $3,961,913
- Municipal court - $2,800,000
- Criminal district court - $2,860,196
- Criminal sheriff - $22,594,000
- Clerk of Criminal District Court - $3,850,403
Non-general fund spending
In 2011, non-general fund spending totaled $119,533,121. Sources over $1,000,000 are:
- Mayor - $119,533,121
- CAO - $7,611,526
- Fire - $4,548,481
- Police - $9,231,748
- Human services - $1,275,470
- Property management - $2,657,835
- Public works - $4,279,510
- Library - $8,393,956
- Office of Comm. Development - $61,212,370
- Neighborhood housing improvement fund - $5,194,143
- Workforce Investment Act - $7,976,007
- Economic Development Fund - $5,975,387
- Intergovernmental - $60,693,712
Trouble in the Sanitation Department
City Councilwoman Stacy Head says that she has requested the list of addresses served by the sanitation department multiple times in order to review services for budget evaluation. Department head Veronica White insists that she was never asked for such information, and stormed out of a City Council meeting after trying to justify "the city's $31 million budget... as compared to Jefferson Parish's $18.5 million budget" for the same services. [18]
Lobbying
New Orleans is a member of the Louisiana Municipal Association, an organization that lobbies on behalf of cities on the state level.[19]
New Orleans is also a member of the National League of Cities, an organization that lobbies on behalf of cities on the national level.[20]
External links
References
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_orleans
- ↑ New Orleans 2008 Budget
- ↑ City Council Meetings/Agendas
- ↑ New Orleans City Council
- ↑ City Contracts
- ↑ Executive Staff
- ↑ Staff Contact Information
- ↑ Bureau of Treasury
- ↑ Planning
- ↑ Safety and Permits
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_orleans
- ↑ http://www.nola.gov/HOME/Mayors-Office/Biography-of-Mitchell-J-Landrieu/
- ↑ http://www.nolacitycouncil.com/default.asp
- ↑ Nola.com, "New Orleans City Hall top salaries: Who's earning what" May 15, 2010
- ↑ Public employees
- ↑ Police department
- ↑ Fire department
- ↑ New Orleans City Councilwoman Stacy Head accuses sanitation director of lying about garbage contract, NOLA.com, November 12, 2008
- ↑ Louisiana Municipal Association
- ↑ National League of Cities
